Risk of cardiac arrhythmias during hypoglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular risk

Cardiac arrhythmia and hypoglycaemia among individuals with and without diabetes receiving haemodialysis (the CADDY study): a Danish multicentre cohort study

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS

We aimed to examine arrhythmias and hypoglycaemia among individuals with and without diabetes who are receiving haemodialysis and to investigate the association between arrhythmias and hypoglycaemia, hyperglycaemia and glycaemic variability.

METHODS

This prospective multicentre cohort study included 70 participants on maintenance haemodialysis (35 with diabetes and 35 without diabetes). We employed implantable cardiac monitors for continuous heart rhythm monitoring in combination with periodic use of continuous glucose monitoring. Logistic-regression-type linear mixed models were used to examine associations between arrhythmias and glycaemic measures.

RESULTS

During 18 months of follow-up, clinically significant arrhythmias (bradyarrhythmia and ventricular tachycardia) were identified in 12 (34%) participants with diabetes and 11 (31%) without diabetes. Atrial fibrillation was detected in 13 (37%) participants with diabetes and 14 (40%) without, while other supraventricular tachycardia was detected in seven (20%) and 11 (31%) participants with and without diabetes, respectively. Hypoglycaemia (sensor glucose <3.9 mmol/l) was observed in 27 (77%) participants with diabetes and 32 (91%) without diabetes. Compared with euglycaemia, hypoglycaemia was associated with an increased rate of arrhythmias among participants without diabetes (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 3.13 [95% CI 1.49, 6.55]), while hyperglycaemia (sensor glucose >10.0 mmol/l) was associated with a decreased rate of arrhythmias among participants with diabetes (IRR 0.58 [95% CI 0.37, 0.92]). Glycaemic variability showed no association with arrhythmias regardless of the presence of diabetes.

CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION

Arrhythmias and hypoglycaemia were common in those undergoing haemodialysis regardless of diabetes status. Our data suggest a temporal relationship between arrhythmias and glucose level in both individuals with and without diabetes.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT04841304.

Advancing Diabetes Management and Glycemic Control While Exploring CagriSema's Impact on Obesity Management

Diabetes is a complex metabolic disorder affecting over 37 million people in the United States. Without proper management, diabetes can lead to a myriad of complications, including cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, and vision loss. Obesity is a major contributor to type 2 diabetes, but genetic and physiological factors make weight loss difficult, necessitating medication management for both conditions. Government-approved weight loss medications, including glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists and amylin analogs, have proven to be effective for both conditions. However, intensive glycemic control involving antidiabetic medications, while beneficial for reducing diabetic complications, can often precipitate hypoglycemic events, which are characterized by cardiac arrhythmias, coma, confusion, and even mortality. A new drug under investigation, CagriSema, combines cagrilintide, an amylin analog, with semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist. This drug is being marketed as a safe and potentially superior medication to lower both Hemoglobin A1c and body weight. In this article, the pathophysiology, current guidelines, and management of diabetes will be reviewed, with an emphasis on the clinical evidence for tight glucose control and avoiding hypoglycemic events. Following this, an overview of recent trials on antidiabetic medications, including those involving CagriSema, will be presented, along with prospects for future trials in this promising area of research.

Association of stress hyperglycemia ratio with short-term and long-term prognosis in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting across different glucose metabolism states: a large-scale cohort study

BACKGROUND

Stress hyperglycemia ratio (SHR) is recognized as a reliable indicator of acute hyperglycemia during stress. Patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) are at high risk of stress hyperglycemia, but little attention has been paid to this population. This study is the first to investigate the association between SHR and both short-term and long-term prognosis in CABG patients, with a further exploration of the impact of SHR across different glucose metabolic states.

METHODS

A total of 18,307 patients undergoing isolated CABG were consecutively enrolled and categorized into three groups based on SHR tertiles. The perioperative outcome was defined as a composite of in-hospital death, myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accident, and reoperation during hospitalization. The long-term outcome was major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs). Restricted cubic spline and logistic regression linked SHR to perioperative risks. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses were used to determine the relationship with long-term prognosis. Subgroup analyses were further conducted based on different glucose metabolic states.

RESULTS

A U-shaped association was observed between SHR and perioperative outcome in the overall population (P for nonlinear < 0.001). As SHR increased, the risk of perioperative events initially decreased (OR per SD: 0.87, 95% CI 0.79-0.97, P = 0.013) and then elevated (OR per SD: 1.16, 95% CI 1.04-1.28, P =  0.004), with an inflection point at 0.79. A similar U-shaped pattern was identified in patients with normal glucose regulation. Among those with prediabetes, the association was J-shaped, while in patients with diabetes, the association became nonsignificant when SHR exceeded 0.76. Adding SHR to the existing risk model improved the predictive performance for perioperative outcomes in the overall population (AUC: 0.720 → 0.752, P < 0.001; NRI: 0.036, P =  0.003; IDI: 0.015, P < 0.001). For long-term outcomes, the risk of events was monotonically elevated with increasing SHR, regardless of glucose metabolic status. The third tertile showed a 10.7% greater risk of MACCEs (HR: 1.107, 95% CI 1.023-1.231, P =  0.024).

CONCLUSIONS

SHR was significantly associated with prognosis in CABG patients, demonstrating a non-linear U-shaped relationship with short-term outcomes and a linear positive association with long-term outcomes. The in-hospital risk associated with SHR was attenuated in patients with diabetes.

RESEARCH INSIGHTS

WHAT IS CURRENTLY KNOWN ABOUT THIS TOPIC?: Stress hyperglycemia is common during the perioperative period in CABG patients and is linked to adverse short- and long-term outcomes. The stress hyperglycemia ratio (SHR) is a novel metric that accounts for baseline glycemia to better reflect acute stress-induced hyperglycemia. However, SHR has not been studied in the CABG population. WHAT IS THE KEY RESEARCH QUESTION?: This study is the first to investigate the association between SHR and both short-term and long-term prognosis in patients undergoing CABG, while further exploring its impact across different glucose metabolic states, categorized as normal glucose regulation, prediabetes, and diabetes. WHAT IS NEW?: In CABG patients, SHR shows a U-shaped relationship with perioperative events and a linear positive association with long-term outcomes, both of which are modulated by glucose metabolic status. HOW MIGHT THIS STUDYINFLUENCE CLINICAL PRACTICE?: Findings support the incorporation of SHR for risk stratification and personalized glucose management in CABG patients, ultimately improving both in-hospital and long-term prognosis.

Association of the stress hyperglycemia ratio for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in population with cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome stages 0-4: evidence from a large cohort study

BACKGROUND

The Cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome is a health disorder caused by interactions between cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and metabolism-related risk factors. The stress hyperglycemia ratio (SHR) has been shown to correlate with the prognosis of participants with diabetes mellitus, heart failure, and myocardial infarction. However, the predictive value of SHR in the CKM syndrome population is unclear and requires further exploration.

METHODS

This study analyzed 19,345 participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2018). CKM syndrome was staged according to the American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines. SHR was calculated using fasting blood glucose (FBG) and glycated hemoglobin type A1c (HbA1c). Participants were grouped into four quartiles based on SHR. The primary and secondary outcomes were all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality, respectively. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to evaluate the association between SHR and outcomes. Then, the potential nonlinear relationship was explored using restricted cubic spline (RCS) analysis. We also performed subgroup analyses to assess the effects of different variables.

RESULTS

A total of 2,736 all-cause deaths and 699 cardiovascular deaths were recorded during a median follow-up period of 115 months. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that participants in quartile 2 had the lowest risk for both all-cause and cardiovascular mortality (Log Rank P < 0.05). Multivariate Cox regression demonstrated the lowest all-cause mortality in the 2nd quartile (HR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.73-0.97, P = 0.015) and the highest all-cause mortality in the 4th quartile (HR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.03-1.37, P = 0.018), compared with the 1st quartile group of SHR. The RCS curve demonstrated a U-shape association of SHR with both all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, with the lowest points of 0.89 and 0.91, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

SHR is strongly correlated with prognosis in the CKM syndrome population, with high or low SHR increasing the risk of death. This index shows great potential for predicting the risk of death in this population.

Association between the stress hyperglycemia ratio and all-cause mortality in critically ill patients with T2DM: a retrospective study

Background

Previous studies have shown a significant correlation between the stress-hyperglycemia ratio (SHR) and mortality. However, it is unknown whether the SHR has the same predictive value in severely ill patients. The main purpose of this research was to investigate the association between the SHR and all-cause mortality in critically ill patients with T2DM.

Methods

The data used in this study were derived from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC-IV) database. The primary outcome was 180-day mortality and the secondary outcomes were 28-day, 90-day and 365-day mortality. The main analytical methods included: Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, the COX proportional hazards model and restricted cubic splines.

Results

A total of 993 patients were included. The 28-day, 90-day, 180-day, and 365-day mortalities reached 10.4%, 14.4%, 16.7% and 19.0%, respectively. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis revealed that the elevated SHR was significantly related to 28-day, 90-day and 180-day all-cause mortality even after cofounder adjustment. Restricted cubic spline analysis revealed a nonlinear association between the SHR and the risk of 28-day (p for nonlinear=0.014), 90-day (p for nonlinear=0.007), 180-day (p for nonlinear=0.001) and 365-day (p for nonlinear=0.003) all-cause mortality.

Conclusion

SHR is significantly associated with 28-day, 90-day and 180-day all-cause mortality in critically ill patients with T2DM. This may help us identify patients at higher risk of death early.

The Impact of frailty on the effectiveness of intensive blood pressure control for patients with type 2 diabetes: a secondary analysis of a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Frailty is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular events. It is uncertain whether frailty modifies the efficacy of intensive blood pressure (BP) control among participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).

METHODS

The Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes Blood Pressure (ACCORD BP) trial, a two-by-two factorial trial, examined the effects of systolic BP (<120 vs <140 mm Hg) and glycaemic control on cardiovascular events in T2DM. We constructed a frailty index using the Rockwood cumulative deficit approach. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate the effectiveness of intensive BP treatment according to frailty status. The primary composite outcome was non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke or death from cardiovascular causes.

RESULTS

There were 4733 participants (mean age: 62.7 years; 39.9% frailty). The mean average number of antihypertensive medications was higher in frail patients compared with non-frail patients in both the standard (2.2 vs 1.7) and intensive (3.1 vs 2.7) treatment groups. In the standard glycaemic arm, intensive BP treatment reduced the risk of the primary outcome (HR 0.75, 95% CI 0.58 to 0.97) regardless of frailty status (p value for interaction=0.86). The benefits of intensive BP intervention were consistent across the spectrum of the frailty index (p value for interaction=0.96) in the standard glycaemic arm. However, no benefits of intensive BP treatment (HR 1.08, 95% CI 0.82 to 1.43) were observed in the intensive glycaemic arm.

CONCLUSIONS

In the ACCORD BP study, the benefit of intensive BP treatment was consistent regardless of frailty in the setting of standard glycaemic control. Frailty should not be a barrier to intensive BP control in patients with T2DM treated with guideline-recommended standard glycaemic control.

High incidence of low interstitial fluid glucose among type 2 diabetes patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) despite adhering to appropriate glycated haemoglobin targets-has time come for robust integration of interstitial fluid glucose targets into glycaemic guidelines?

AIM

We aim to compare the burden of Level 1 (<4 mmol/L) and Level 2 (<3 mmol/L) hypoglycaemia between type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with and without chronic kidney disease (CKD).

METHODS

T2D subjects with and without CKD (eGFR<60 mL/min/1.73 m2) were recruited from a tertiary-care hospital. Subjects wore the Freestyle Libre-Pro sensor for 2 weeks. The number of hypoglycaemic events and intra-day difference in Level 1 and 2 hypoglycaemias were compared between the cohorts.

RESULTS

We recruited 134 subjects: 74 with CKD (44 M:30F) and 60 without CKD (36 M:24F), with no difference in HbA1c between the two cohorts (66 ± 20 vs 64 ± 16 mmol/mol, p = 0.529). The CKD cohort had increased level 1 (OR 1.73, p = 0.011), level 2 hypoglycaemias (OR 2.16, p = 0.002), and glycaemic variability than the non-CKD cohort (35.3 ± 9.5 vs 32.3 ± 6.8%). The CKD cohort had more level 2 hypoglycaemia events nocturnally compared to day at 1.9 ± 3.1 vs. 1.4 ± 2.5 events/person within the two week sensor wearing period (p = 0.022), whereas there was no significant intra-day difference in the number of such events within the non-CKD cohort.

CONCLUSIONS

The CKD cohort has a greater burden of hypoglycaemia despite being treated to similar HbA1c targets. The greater number of nocturnal events warrants safety concern. Interstitial fluid glucose targets should be incorporated into the glycaemic guidelines for T2D patients with CKD.

Relationship between glycemic variability and the incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation following cardiac Surgery: A retrospective study from MIMIC-IV database

AIMS

This study aimed to explore the association between glycemic variability (GV) and postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) incidence.

METHODS

In this retrospective study, we included patients undergoing cardiac surgeries. GV was calculated as the coefficient of variation of blood glucose and categorized into tertiles based on its distribution. The primary endpoint was the incidence of POAF. Logistic regression and restricted cubic splines were used to assess the relationship between GV and POAF.

RESULTS

5365 patients were included, with a median age of 68.3 years, and 25.5 % were female. 1056 (19.7 %) patients developed new-onset POAF. Compared with the low GV group, moderate GV group (odds ratio [OR], 1.82; 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.49-2.22) and high GV group (OR, 2.25; 95 % CI, 1.80-2.82) were significantly associated with a higher incidence of POAF. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of GV in predicting POAF incidence was 0.77 (95 % CI: 0.76-0.79). There is a threshold-based nonlinear relationship between GV and the incidence of POAF: when GV was < 24 %, the likelihood of POAF increases with higher GV, whereas when GV ≥ 24 %, further increases did not significantly affect the risk of POAF.

CONCLUSIONS

Increased GV is associated with higher incidence of POAF.

Development and Validation of an Electronic Health Record-Based Risk Assessment Tool for Hypoglycemia in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

BACKGROUND

The recent availability of high-quality data from clinical trials, together with machine learning (ML) techniques, presents exciting opportunities for developing prediction models for clinical outcomes.

METHODS

As a proof-of-concept, we translated a hypoglycemia risk model derived from the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) study into the HypoHazardScore, a risk assessment tool applicable to electronic health record (EHR) data. To assess its performance, we conducted a 16-week clinical study at the University of Minnesota where participants (N = 40) with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) had hypoglycemia assessed prospectively by continuous glucose monitoring (CGM).

RESULTS

The HypoHazardScore combines 16 risk factors commonly found within the EHR. The HypoHazardScore successfully predicted (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.723) whether participants experienced least one CGM-assessed hypoglycemic event (glucose <54 mg/dL for ≥15 minutes from two CGMs) while significantly correlating with frequency of CGM-assessed hypoglycemic events (r = 0.38) and percent time experiencing CGM-assessed hypoglycemia (r = 0.39). Compared to participants with a low HypoHazardScore (N = 19, score <4, median score of 4), participants with a high HypoHazardScore (N = 21, score ≥4) had more frequent CGM-assessed hypoglycemic events (high: 1.6 ± 2.2 events/week; low: 0.3 ± 0.5 events/week) and experienced more CGM-assessed hypoglycemia (high: 1.4% ± 2.0%; low: 0.2% ± 0.4% time) during the 16-week follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

We demonstrated that a hypoglycemia risk model can be successfully adapted from the ACCORD data to the EHR, with validation by a prospective study using CGM-assessed hypoglycemia. The HypoHazardScore represents a significant advancement toward implementing an EHR-based decision support system that can help reduce hypoglycemia in patients with T2DM.

Sleep as a window of cardiometabolic health: The potential of digital sleep and circadian biomarkers

Digital biomarkers are quantifiable and objective indicators of a person's physiological function, behavioral state or treatment response, that can be captured using connected sensor technologies such as wearable devices and mobile apps. We envision that continuous and 24-h monitoring of the underlying physiological and behavioral processes through digital biomarkers can enhance early diagnostics, disease management, and self-care of cardiometabolic diseases. Cardiometabolic diseases, which include a combination of cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, represent an emerging global health threat. The prevention potential of cardiometabolic diseases is around 80%, indicating a promising role for interventions in the lifestyle and/or the environmental context. Disruption of sleep and circadian rhythms are increasingly recognized as risk factors for cardiometabolic disease. Digital biomarkers can be used to measure around the clock, that is, day and night, to quantify not only sleep patterns but also diurnal fluctuations of certain biomarkers and processes. In this way, digital biomarkers can support the delivery of optimal timed medical care. Night-time cardiometabolic patterns, such as blood pressure dipping, are predictive of cardiometabolic health outcomes. In addition, the sleep period provides an opportunity for digital cardiometabolic health monitoring with relatively low influence of artifacts, such as physical activity and eating. Digital biomarkers that utilize sleep as a window of health can be used during daily life to enable early diagnosis of cardiometabolic diseases, facilitate remote patient monitoring, and support self-management in people with cardiometabolic diseases. This review describes the influence of sleep and circadian rhythms on cardiometabolic disease and highlights the state-of-the-art sleep and circadian digital biomarkers which could be of benefit in the prevention of cardiometabolic disease.

Monitoring individualized glucose levels predicts risk for bradycardia in type 2 diabetes patients with chronic kidney disease: a pilot study

Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) exhibit an elevated risk for cardiac arrhythmias, such as bradycardia, which may potentially lead to sudden cardiac death (SCD). While hypoglycemia, defined as a critical drop in glucose levels below the normal range, has long been associated with adverse cardiovascular events, recent studies have highlighted the need for a comprehensive reevaluation of its direct impact on cardiovascular outcomes, particularly in high-risk populations such as those with DM and CKD. In this study, we investigated the association between glucose levels and bradycardia by simultaneously monitoring interstitial glucose (IG) and ECG for 7 days in insulin-treated patients with DM and CKD. We identified bradycardia episodes in 19 of 85 patients (22%) and associated these episodes with personalized low, medium, and high relative glucose levels. Our analysis revealed a significant increase in bradycardia frequency during periods of lowest relative glucose, particularly between 06:00-09:00 and 12:00-15:00. Furthermore, leveraging a Random Forests classifier, we achieved a promising area under the curve (AUC) of 0.94 for predicting bradyarrhythmias using glucose levels and heart rate variability features. Contrary to previous findings, only 4% of bradycardia episodes in our study population occurred at glucose levels of 70 mg/dL or lower, with 28% observed at levels exceeding 180 mg/dL. Our findings not only highlight the strong correlation between relative glucose levels, heart rate parameters, and bradycardia onset but also emphasize the need for a more personalized definition of hypoglycemia to understand its relationship with bradyarrhythmias in high-risk DM and CKD patient populations.

Cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy in diabetes: an update with a focus on management

Cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN) is an under-recognised yet highly prevalent microvascular complication of diabetes. CAN affects approximately 20% of people with diabetes, with recent studies highlighting the presence of CAN in prediabetes (impaired glucose tolerance and/or impaired fasting glucose), indicating early involvement of the autonomic nervous system. Understanding of the pathophysiology of CAN continues to evolve, with emerging evidence supporting a potential link between lipid metabolites, mitochondrial dysfunction and genetics. Recent advancements, such as streamlining CAN detection through wearable devices and monitoring of heart rate variability, present simplified and cost-effective approaches for early CAN detection. Further research on the optimal use of the extensive data provided by such devices is required. Despite the lack of specific pharmacological interventions targeting the underlying pathophysiology of autonomic neuropathy, several studies have suggested a favourable impact of newer glucose-lowering agents, such as sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, where there is a wealth of clinical trial data on the prevention of cardiovascular events. This review delves into recent developments in the area of CAN, with emphasis on practical guidance to recognise and manage this underdiagnosed condition, which significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular events and mortality in diabetes.

The clinical importance of measuring glycaemic variability: Utilising new metrics to optimise glycaemic control

With the widespread use of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), glycaemic variability (GV) is a glucose metric that has been gaining increasing attention. However, unlike other glucose metrics that are easily defined and have clear targets, GV has a large number of different measures given the complexity involved in assessment. While variabilities in HbA1c, fasting and postprandial glucose have been incorporated under the GV banner, short-term variability in glucose, within day and between days, is more in keeping with the correct definition of GV. This review is focused on short-term GV, as assessed by CGM data, although studies calculating GV from capillary glucose testing are also mentioned as appropriate. The different measures of GV are addressed, and their potential role in microvascular and macrovascular complications, as well as patient-related outcomes, discussed. It should be noted that the independent role of GV in vascular pathology is not always clear, given the inconsistent findings in different populations and the close association between GV and hypoglycaemia, itself an established risk factor for adverse outcomes. Therefore, this review attempts, where possible, to disentangle the contribution of GV to diabetes complications from other glycaemic parameters, particularly hypoglycaemia. Evidence to date strongly suggests an independent role for GV in vascular pathology but future large-scale outcome studies are required to fully understand the exact contribution of this metric to vascular complications. This can be followed by setting appropriate GV measures and targets in different diabetes subgroups, in order to optimise glycaemic management and limit the risk of complications.

Insulin-Heart Axis: Bridging Physiology to Insulin Resistance

Insulin signaling is vital for regulating cellular metabolism, growth, and survival pathways, particularly in tissues such as adipose, skeletal muscle, liver, and brain. Its role in the heart, however, is less well-explored. The heart, requiring significant ATP to fuel its contractile machinery, relies on insulin signaling to manage myocardial substrate supply and directly affect cardiac muscle metabolism. This review investigates the insulin-heart axis, focusing on insulin's multifaceted influence on cardiac function, from metabolic regulation to the development of physiological cardiac hypertrophy. A central theme of this review is the pathophysiology of insulin resistance and its profound implications for cardiac health. We discuss the intricate molecular mechanisms by which insulin signaling modulates glucose and fatty acid metabolism in cardiomyocytes, emphasizing its pivotal role in maintaining cardiac energy homeostasis. Insulin resistance disrupts these processes, leading to significant cardiac metabolic disturbances, autonomic dysfunction, subcellular signaling abnormalities, and activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. These factors collectively contribute to the progression of diabetic cardiomyopathy and other cardiovascular diseases. Insulin resistance is linked to hypertrophy, fibrosis, diastolic dysfunction, and systolic heart failure, exacerbating the risk of coronary artery disease and heart failure. Understanding the insulin-heart axis is crucial for developing therapeutic strategies to mitigate the cardiovascular complications associated with insulin resistance and diabetes.

Effect of empagliflozin on ventricular arrhythmias in patients with type 2 diabetes treated with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator: the EMPA-ICD trial

BACKGROUND

Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors reduce the risk of hospitalization for heart failure and cardiovascular death with type 2 diabetes; however, their effect on arrhythmias is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of empagliflozin on ventricular arrhythmias in patients with type 2 diabetes.

METHODS

A total of 150 patients with type 2 diabetes who were treated with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator or cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator (ICD/CRT-D) were randomized to once-daily empagliflozin or placebo for 24 weeks. The primary endpoint was the change in the number of ventricular arrhythmias from the 24 weeks before to the 24 weeks during treatment. Secondary endpoints included the change in the number of appropriate device discharges and other values.

RESULTS

In the empagliflozin group, the number of ventricular arrhythmias recorded by ICD/CRT-D decreased by 1.69 during treatment compared to before treatment, while in the placebo group, the number increased by 1.79. The coefficient for the between-group difference was - 1.07 (95% confidence interval [CI] - 1.29 to - 0.86; P < 0.001). The change in the number of appropriate device discharges during and before treatment was 0.06 in the empagliflozin group and 0.27 in the placebo group, with no significant difference between the groups (P = 0.204). Empagliflozin was associated with an increase in blood ketones and hematocrit and a decrease in blood brain natriuretic peptide and body weight.

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with type 2 diabetes treated with ICD/CRT-D, empagliflozin reduces the number of ventricular arrhythmias compared with placebo. Trial registration jRCTs031180120.

Malglycemia in the critical care setting. Part III: Temporal patterns, relative potencies, and hospital mortality

INTRODUCTION

The relationship between critical care mortality and combined impact of malglycemia remains undefined.

METHODS

We assessed the risk-adjusted relationship (n = 4790) between hospital mortality with malglycemia, defined as hypergycemia (hours Glycemic Ratio ≥ 1.1, where GR is quotient of mean ICU blood glucose (BG) and estimated average BG), absolute hypoglycemia (hours BG < 70 mg/dL) and relative hypoglycemia (excursions GR < 0.7 in those with HbA1c ≥ 8%).

RESULTS

Each malglycemia was independently associated with mortality - hyperglycemia (OR 1.0020/h, 95%CI 1.0009-1.0031, p = 0.0004), absolute hypoglycemia (OR 1.0616/h, 95%CI 1.0190-1.1061, p = 0.0043), and relative hypoglycemia (OR 1.2813/excursion, 95%CI 1.0704-1.5338, p = 0.0069). Absolute (7.4%) and relative hypoglycemia (6.7%) exposure dominated the first 24 h, decreasing thereafter. While hyperglycemia had lower risk association with mortality, it was persistently present across the length-of-stay (68-76% incidence daily), making it the dominant form of malglycemia. Relative contributions in the first five days from hyperglycemia, absolute hypoglycemia and relative hypoglycemia were 60%, 21% and 19% respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Absolute and relative hypoglycemia occurred largely in the first 24 h. Relative to all hypoglycemia, the associated mortality from the seemingly less potent but consistently more prevalent hyperglycemia steadily accumulated with increasing length-of-stay. This has important implications for interpretation of study results.

The prognostic value of the stress hyperglycemia ratio for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in patients with diabetes or prediabetes: insights from NHANES 2005-2018

BACKGROUND

The Stress hyperglycemia ratio (SHR) is a novel marker reflecting the true acute hyperglycemia status and is associated with clinical adverse events. The relationship between SHR and mortality in patients with diabetes or prediabetes is still unclear. This study aimed to investigate the predictive value of the SHR for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in patients with diabetes or prediabetes.

METHODS

This study included 11,160 patients diagnosed with diabetes or prediabetes from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2005-2018). The study endpoints were all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, and morality data were extracted from the National Death Index (NDI) up to December 31, 2019. Patients were divided into SHR quartiles. Cox proportion hazards regression was applied to determine the prognostic value of SHR. Model 1 was not adjusted for any covariates. Model 2 was adjusted for age, sex, and race. Model 3 was adjusted for age, sex, race, BMI, smoking status, alcohol use, hypertension, CHD, CKD, anemia, and TG.

RESULTS

During a mean follow-up of 84.9 months, a total of 1538 all-cause deaths and 410 cardiovascular deaths were recorded. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed the lowest all-cause mortality incidence was in quartile 3 (P < 0.001). Multivariate Cox regression analyses indicated that, compared to the 1st quartile, the 4th quartile was associated with higher all-cause mortality (model 1: HR = 0.89, 95% CI 0.74-10.7, P = 0.226; model 2: HR = 1.24, 95% CI 1.03-1.49, P = 0.026; model 3: HR = 1.30, 95% CI 1.08-1.57, P = 0.006). The 3rd quartile was associated with lower cardiovascular mortality than quartile 1 (model 1: HR = 0.47, 95% CI 0.32-0.69, P < 0.001; model 2: HR = 0.66, 95% CI 0.45-0.96, P = 0.032; model 3: HR = 0.68, 95% CI 0.46-0.99, P = 0.049). There was a U-shaped association between SHR and all-cause mortality and an L-shaped association between SHR and cardiovascular mortality, with inflection points of SHR for poor prognosis of 0.87 and 0.93, respectively.

CONCLUSION

SHR is related to all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in patients with diabetes or prediabetes. SHR may have predictive value in those patients.

Malglycemia in the critical care setting. Part II: Relative and absolute hypoglycemia

INTRODUCTION

The relationship between critical care mortality and hypoglycemia, both relative (>30% below average preadmission glycemia) and absolute (blood glucose (BG) <70 mg/dL (<10 mmol/L)) requires further definition.

METHODS

We assessed the risk-adjusted relationship between hospital mortality with relative hypoglycemia using the Glycemic Ratio (GR), and with absolute hypoglycemia using BG in a retrospective cohort investigation (n = 4790).

RESULTS

Relative hypoglycemia excursions below GR 0.7 with a of 24-h non-exposure period between excursions in those with HbA1c ≥ 8% were independently associated with mortality (n = 373, OR 2.49, 95% CI 1.54-4.04, p = 0.0002) but not those with HbA1c < 8% (n = 4417, OR 0.98 95% CI 0.89-1.08, p = 0.70). Hours below GR 0.7 (1.0037, 0.9995-1.0080, 0.0846) or minimum GR (0.0896, 0.0030-2.6600, 0.1632) were not independently associated with outcome. Absolute hypoglycemia occurred across the HbA1c spectrum in a U-shaped pattern. There was no difference in mortality associated with exposure to BG < 70 mg/dL for HbA1c ≥ 6.5% vs <6.5% (29.7% vs 24.3%, p = 0.77). Hours below 70 mg/dL demonstrated strongest association with outcome, while minimum BG, and excursions below 70 mg/dL were also independently associated.

CONCLUSIONS

Relative hypoglycemia represented by excursions below GR 0.7 in those with HbA1c ≥ 8% occurred commonly and was independently associated with mortality. Absolute hypoglycemia had similar association with mortality regardless of HbA1c.

Pharmacologic inhibition of somatostatin receptor 2 to restore glucagon counterregulation in diabetes

Glucose homeostasis is primarily maintained by pancreatic hormones, insulin and glucagon, with an emerging role for a third islet hormone, somatostatin, in regulating insulin and glucagon responses. Under healthy conditions, somatostatin secreted from pancreatic islet δ-cells inhibits both insulin and glucagon release through somatostatin receptor- induced cAMP-mediated downregulation and paracrine inhibition of β- and α-cells, respectively. Since glucagon is the body's most important anti-hypoglycemic hormone, and because glucagon counterregulation to hypoglycemia is lost in diabetes, the study of somatostatin biology has led to new investigational medications now in development that may help to restore glucagon counterregulation in type 1 diabetes. This review highlights the normal regulatory role of pancreatic somatostatin signaling in healthy islet function and how the inhibition of somatostatin receptor signaling in pancreatic α-cells may restore normal glucagon counterregulation in diabetes mellitus.

The efficacy of switching basal-bolus insulin therapy to basal insulin-supported oral therapy with a glinide and an α-glucosidase inhibitor in patients with type 2 diabetes depends on insulin secretory capacity, but not on blood glucose profiles and insulin dosages prior to the switching

Aims

We aimed to identify patients who would benefit from basal insulin-supported oral therapy (BOT) with a glinide and an α-glucosidase inhibitor (a fixed-dose combination tablet of mitiglinide 10 mg and voglibose 0.2 mg) in Japanese type 2 diabetic patients.

Methods

Patients who were hospitalized to improve hyperglycemia received basal-bolus insulin therapy. After the reduction of glucose toxicity, a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test and a glucagon test were performed. Thereafter, the basal-bolus insulin therapy was switched to BOT with mitiglinide, followed by further addition of voglibose. Interstitial glucose levels were continuously monitored throughout the study period. Diurnal glucose profile was recorded and analyzed. Patients were divided into two groups according to whether their percentage of time in range (TIR, 70-180 mg/dL) under BOT with mitiglinide/voglibose was higher than 70% or not, and the differences in clinical characteristics between the groups were analyzed.

Results

Twenty patients were enrolled, and 19 of them completed the study. BOT with mitiglinide/voglibose achieved ≥ 70% of TIR in thirteen patients. The area under the curve of serum C-peptide levels during the oral glucose tolerance test was significantly higher in the patients with ≥ 70% of TIR. The daily insulin dosages and blood glucose profiles were comparable between the two groups.

Conclusions

The efficacy of BOT with mitiglinide/voglibose depended on residual insulin secretory abilities. This therapy would be a useful therapeutic option for patients with type 2 diabetes.

Relationship between CGM-derived nocturnal hypoglycemia and subjective sleep quality in people with type 1 diabetes

This pilot study explores the relationship between nocturnal hypoglycemia (NH) and subjective sleep quality in people with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Twenty-seven adults with T1D wore a Freestyle Libre Pro CGM and recorded subjective sleep quality daily, as assessed by a single Likert scale question. Frequency, duration, area under the curve (AUC) of NH (00:00-06:00) defined as sensor glucose below threshold (< 3.9 mmol/L; < 3 mmol/L) for ≥ 15 min, nocturnal mean glucose, Time in Range (3.9-10 mmol/L), and coefficient of variation were calculated. Twenty-seven adults, 18 (66.7%) women, with median (IQR) age of 27 (26, 32) years and HbA1c of 7.6 (7.1, 8.1) participated. Nights with NH < 3.9 mmol/L resulted in a lower (worse) sleep score than nights without NH [Mean (SD): 3.3 (1.2) vs 3.5 (1.0), p = 0.03). A higher frequency and longer duration but not AUC [adjusted OR (95% CI) 0.52 (0.38, 0.72), 0.961 (0.932, 0.991), 0.999 (0.998, 1.001) respectively)], of NH < 3.9 mmol/L, were associated with a lower sleep score. NH < 3.0 mmol/L metrics were not associated with sleep quality. Recurrent NH < 3.9 mmol/L, rather than prolonged NH < 3.0 mmol/L, seems associated with subjective sleep quality, implying that those with the highest burden of NH are likely unaware of it.

Cardiac arrhythmia and hypoglycaemia in patients receiving haemodialysis with and without diabetes (the CADDY study): protocol for a Danish multicentre cohort study

INTRODUCTION

Patients receiving haemodialysis are at increased risk of arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death, but data on arrhythmia burden and the pathophysiology remain limited. Among potential risk factors, hypoglycaemia is proposed as a possible trigger of lethal arrhythmias. The development of implantable loop recorders (ILR) and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) enables long-term continuous ECG and glycaemic monitoring. The current article presents the protocol of a study aiming to increase the understanding of arrhythmias and risk factors in patients receiving haemodialysis. The findings will provide a detailed exploration of the burden and nature of arrhythmias in these patients including the potential association between hypoglycaemia and arrhythmias.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

The study is an investigator-initiated, prospective, multicentre cohort study recruiting 70 patients receiving haemodialysis: 35 with diabetes and 35 without diabetes. Participants are monitored with ILRs and CGM for 18 months follow-up. Data collection further includes a monthly collection of predialysis blood samples and dialysis parameters. The primary outcome is the presence of clinically significant arrhythmias defined as a composite of bradycardia, ventricular tachycardia, or ventricular fibrillation. Secondary outcomes include the characterisation of clinically significant arrhythmias and other arrhythmias, glycaemic characteristics, and mortality. The data analyses include an assessment of the association between arrhythmias and hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia, baseline clinical variables, and parameters related to kidney failure and the haemodialysis procedure.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The study has been approved by the Ethics Committee of the Capital Region of Denmark (H-20069767). The findings will be presented at national and international congresses as well as in international peer-reviewed scientific journals.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT04841304.

Brain Regulation of Cardiac Function during Hypoglycemia

Hypoglycemia occurs frequently in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Hypoglycemia activates the counter-regulatory response. Besides peripheral glucose sensors located in the pancreas, mouth, gastrointestinal tract, portal vein, and carotid body, many brain regions also contain glucose-sensing neurons that detect this fall in glucose. The autonomic nervous system innervates the heart, and during hypoglycemia, can cause many changes. Clinical and animal studies have revealed changes in electrocardiograms during hypoglycemia. Cardiac repolarization defects (QTc prolongation) occur during moderate levels of hypoglycemia. When hypoglycemia is severe, it can be fatal. Cardiac arrhythmias are thought to be the major mediator of sudden death due to severe hypoglycemia. Both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems of the brain have been implicated in regulating these arrhythmias. Besides cardiac arrhythmias, hypoglycemia can have profound changes in the heart and most of these changes are exacerbated in the setting of diabetes. A better understanding of how the brain regulates cardiac changes during hypoglycemia will allow for better therapeutic intervention to prevent cardiovascular death associated with hypoglycemia in people with diabetes. The aim of this paper is to provide a narrative review of what is known in the field regarding how the brain regulates the heart during hypoglycemia.

An mHealth Text Messaging Program Providing Symptom Detection Training and Psychoeducation to Improve Hypoglycemia Self-Management: Intervention Development Study

BACKGROUND

Hypoglycemia remains a challenge for roughly 25% of people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) despite using advanced technologies such as continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) or automated insulin delivery systems. Factors impacting hypoglycemia self-management behaviors (including reduced ability to detect hypoglycemia symptoms and unhelpful hypoglycemia beliefs) can lead to hypoglycemia development in people with T1D who use advanced diabetes technology.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to develop a scalable, personalized mobile health (mHealth) behavioral intervention program to improve hypoglycemia self-management and ultimately reduce hypoglycemia in people with T1D who use advanced diabetes technology.

METHODS

We (a multidisciplinary team, including clinical and health psychologists, diabetes care and education specialists, endocrinologists, mHealth interventionists and computer engineers, qualitative researchers, and patient partners) jointly developed an mHealth text messaging hypoglycemia behavioral intervention program based on user-centered design principles. The following five iterative steps were taken: (1) conceptualization of hypoglycemia self-management processes and relevant interventions; (2) identification of text message themes and message content development; (3) message revision; (4) patient partner assessments for message readability, language acceptability, and trustworthiness; and (5) message finalization and integration with a CGM data-connected mHealth SMS text message delivery platform. An mHealth web-based SMS text message delivery platform that communicates with a CGM glucose information-sharing platform was also developed.

RESULTS

The mHealth SMS text messaging hypoglycemia behavioral intervention program HypoPals, directed by patients' own CGM data, delivers personalized intervention messages to (1) improve hypoglycemia symptom detection and (2) elicit self-reflection, provide fact-based education, and suggest practical health behaviors to address unhelpful hypoglycemia beliefs and promote hypoglycemia self-management. The program is designed to message patients up to 4 times per day over a 10-week period.

CONCLUSIONS

A rigorous conceptual framework, a multidisciplinary team (including patient partners), and behavior change techniques were incorporated to create a scalable, personalized mHealth SMS text messaging behavioral intervention. This program was systematically developed to improve hypoglycemia self-management in advanced diabetes technology users with T1D. A clinical trial is needed to evaluate the program's efficacy for future clinical implementation.

Dysglycemia and arrhythmias

Disorders in glucose metabolism can be divided into three separate but interrelated domains, namely hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, and glycemic variability. Intensive glycemic control in patients with diabetes might increase the risk of hypoglycemic incidents and glucose fluctuations. These three dysglycemic states occur not only amongst patients with diabetes, but are frequently present in other clinical settings, such as during critically ill. A growing body of evidence has focused on the relationships between these dysglycemic domains with cardiac arrhythmias, including supraventricular arrhythmias (primarily atrial fibrillation), ventricular arrhythmias (malignant ventricular arrhythmias and QT interval prolongation), and bradyarrhythmias (bradycardia and heart block). Different mechanisms by which these dysglycemic states might provoke cardiac arr-hythmias have been identified in experimental studies. A customized glycemic control strategy to minimize the risk of hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia and glucose variability is of the utmost importance in order to mitigate the risk of cardiac arrhythmias.

Association of hypoglycaemia with the risks of arrhythmia and mortality in individuals with diabetes - a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Hypoglycaemia has been linked to an increased risk of cardiac arrhythmias by causing autonomic and metabolic alterations, which may be associated with detrimental outcomes in individuals with diabetes(IWD), such as cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and mortality, especially in multimorbid or frail people. However, such relationships in this population have not been thoroughly investigated. For this reason, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods

Relevant papers published on PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, Web of Knowledge, Scopus, and CINHAL complete from inception to December 22, 2022 were routinely searched without regard for language. All of the selected articles included odds ratio, hazard ratio, or relative risk statistics, as well as data for estimating the connection of hypoglycaemia with cardiac arrhythmia, CVD-induced death, or total death in IWD. Regardless of the heterogeneity assessed by the I2 statistic, pooled relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were obtained using random-effects models.

Results

After deleting duplicates and closely evaluating all screened citations, we chose 60 studies with totally 5,960,224 participants for this analysis. Fourteen studies were included in the arrhythmia risk analysis, and 50 in the analysis of all-cause mortality. Hypoglycaemic patients had significantly higher risks of arrhythmia occurrence (RR 1.42, 95%CI 1.21-1.68), CVD-induced death (RR 1.59, 95% CI 1.24-2.04), and all-cause mortality (RR 1.68, 95% CI 1.49-1.90) compared to euglycaemic patients with significant heterogeneity.

Conclusion

Hypoglycaemic individuals are more susceptible to develop cardiac arrhythmias and die, but evidence of potential causal linkages beyond statistical associations must await proof by additional specifically well planned research that controls for all potential remaining confounding factors.

Use of Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Patients Following Bariatric Surgery: A Scoping Review

The objective of this scoping review was to summarize the emerging literature on the use of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in post-bariatric surgery patients, with a focus on its features (e.g., device, mode, and accuracy), as well as purposes and outcomes of utilization. Three databases (PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science) were searched to obtain relevant studies. Results suggested that most studies used CGM for 3-7 days under blinded mode. Accuracy data were available in only one study, which reported a mean absolute relative difference of 21.7% for Freestyle Libre. The primary applications of CGM were for elucidating glucose patterns and assessing glycemic treatment outcomes. No study has tested the effect of CGM as an intervention strategy to enhance glucose control.

Prevalence of Positivity for Diabetes-Associated Autoantibodies in Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes and Their Further Characterisation: Cross-sectional Study from Slovakia

BACKGROUND

Individuals initially diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (T2D) might exhibit positivity for diabetes-associated autoantibodies (DAA +). We investigated the prevalence of DAA positivity in a group of individuals with T2D who were referred to a tertiary diabetes centre within a pre-specified period of time. We aimed to identify characteristics linked with DAA positivity by comparing DAA + individuals with their DAA-negative counterparts.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study into which all T2D patients referred to the National Institute of Endocrinology and Diabetology, Ľubochňa, Slovakia, between 1 January and 30 June 2016 were included. Data on > 70 participants' characteristics, including antibodies against glutamic acid decarboxylase (anti-GAD₆₅), insulinoma-associated antigen IA-2 (IA-2A) and insulin (IAA), were collected.

RESULTS

Six hundred and ninety-two individuals (387, 55.6% female) with a median (range) age of 62 (24-83) years, HbA1c of 8.9 (5.0-15.7)% [74 (31-148 mmol/mol)] and diabetes duration of 13.0 (0-42) years were analysed. One hundred and forty-five (145/692, 21.0%) tested positive for at least one DAA; 136/692 (19.7%) were positive for anti-GAD₆₅, 21/692 (3.0%) were positive for IA-2A and 9/692 (1.3%) were positive for IAA. Only 84.9% of the DAA + individuals aged > 30 years at the time of diabetes diagnosis met the current diagnostic criteria for latent autoimmune diabetes of adults (LADA). DAA + differed from DAA - individuals in multiple characteristics, including the incidence of hypoglycaemia.

CONCLUSION

Several pathological processes linked with distinct types of diabetes can develop in parallel, including insulin resistance and autoimmune insulitis. In this single-centre cross-sectional study from Slovakia, we report a higher than previously published prevalence of DAA positivity in a group of individuals with a formal diagnosis of T2D.

Effects of Hypoglycemia on Cardiovascular Function in Patients with Diabetes

Hypoglycemia is common in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes (T1D, T2D), treated with insulin or sulfonylureas, and has multiple short- and long-term clinical implications. Whether acute or recurrent, hypoglycemia significantly affects the cardiovascular system with the potential to cause cardiovascular dysfunction. Several pathophysiological mechanisms have been proposed linking hypoglycemia to increased cardiovascular risk, including hemodynamic changes, myocardial ischemia, abnormal cardiac repolarization, cardiac arrhythmias, prothrombotic and proinflammatory effects, and induction of oxidative stress. Hypoglycemia-induced changes can promote the development of endothelial dysfunction, which is an early marker of atherosclerosis. Although data from clinical trials and real-world studies suggest an association between hypoglycemia and cardiovascular events in patients with diabetes, it remains uncertain whether this association is causal. New therapeutic agents for patients with T2D do not cause hypoglycemia and have cardioprotective benefits, whereas increasing the use of new technologies, such as continuous glucose monitoring devices and insulin pumps, has the potential to reduce hypoglycemia and its adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with T1D.

Real-Time Continuous Glucose Monitoring in the Hospital: A Real-World Experience

BACKGROUND

Glycemic control in the hospital setting is imperative for improving outcomes among patients with diabetes. Bedside point-of-care (POC) glucose monitoring has remained the gold standard for decades, while only providing momentary glimpses into a patient's glycemic control. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has been shown to improve glycemic control in the ambulatory setting. However, a paucity of inpatient experience and data remains a barrier to US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval and expanded/non-research use in the hospital setting.

METHOD

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA exercised its enforcement discretion to not object to the use of CGM systems for the treatment of patients in hospital settings to support COVID-19 health care-related efforts to reduce viral exposure of health care workers. Following this announcement, Scripps Health, a large not-for-profit health care system in San Diego, California, implemented CGM as the new "standard of care" (CGM as SOC) for glucose monitoring and management in the hospital.

RESULTS

The present report serves to (1) detail the implementation procedures for employing this new SOC; (2) describe the patients receiving CGM as SOC, their glycemic control, and hospital outcomes; and (3) share lessons learned over two years and nearly 900 hospital encounters involving CGM.

CONCLUSIONS

Here, we conclude that CGM is feasible in the hospital setting by using a dedicated diabetes care team and the CGM technology with remote monitoring.

Nursing Perspectives on the Use of Continuous Glucose Monitoring in the Intensive Care Unit

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated rapid implementation of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in the intensive care unit (ICU). Although rarely reported, perceptions from nursing staff who used the systems are critical for successful implementation and future expanded use of CGM in the inpatient setting.

METHODS

A 22-item survey focused on CGM use was distributed to ICU nurses at two large academic medical centers in the United States in 2022. Both institutions initiated inpatient CGM in the spring of 2020 using the same CGM+point of care (POC) hybrid protocol. The survey employed a 1- to 5-point Likert scale regarding CGM sensor insertion, accuracy, acceptability, usability, training, and perceptions on workload.

RESULTS

Of the 71 surveys completed, 68 (96%) nurses reported they cared for an ICU patient on CGM and 53% reported they had independently performed CGM sensor insertion. The ICU nurses overwhelmingly reported that CGM was accurate, reduced their workload, provided safer patient care, and was preferred over POC glucose testing alone. Interestingly, nearly half of nurses (49%) reported that they considered trend arrows in dosing decisions although trends were not included in the CGM+POC hybrid protocol. Nurses received training through multiple modalities, with the majority (80%) of nurses reporting that CGM training was sufficient and prepared them for its use.

CONCLUSION

These results confirm nursing acceptance and preference for CGM use within a hybrid glucose monitoring protocol in the ICU setting. These data lay a blueprint for successful implementation and training strategies for future widespread use.

Detecting hypoglycemia-induced electrocardiogram changes in a rodent model of type 1 diabetes using shape-based clustering

Sudden death related to hypoglycemia is thought to be due to cardiac arrhythmias. A clearer understanding of the cardiac changes associated with hypoglycemia is needed to reduce mortality. The objective of this work was to identify distinct patterns of electrocardiogram heartbeat changes that correlated with glycemic level, diabetes status, and mortality using a rodent model. Electrocardiogram and glucose measurements were collected from 54 diabetic and 37 non-diabetic rats undergoing insulin-induced hypoglycemic clamps. Shape-based unsupervised clustering was performed to identify distinct clusters of electrocardiogram heartbeats, and clustering performance was assessed using internal evaluation metrics. Clusters were evaluated by experimental conditions of diabetes status, glycemic level, and death status. Overall, shape-based unsupervised clustering identified 10 clusters of ECG heartbeats across multiple internal evaluation metrics. Several clusters demonstrating normal ECG morphology were specific to hypoglycemia conditions (Clusters 3, 5, and 8), non-diabetic rats (Cluster 4), or were generalized among all experimental conditions (Cluster 1). In contrast, clusters demonstrating QT prolongation alone or a combination of QT, PR, and QRS prolongation were specific to severe hypoglycemia experimental conditions and were stratified heartbeats by non-diabetic (Clusters 2 and 6) or diabetic status (Clusters 9 and 10). One cluster demonstrated an arrthymogenic waveform with premature ventricular contractions and was specific to heartbeats from severe hypoglycemia conditions (Cluster 7). Overall, this study provides the first data-driven characterization of ECG heartbeats in a rodent model of diabetes during hypoglycemia.

Insight on Cardiac Chronobiology and Latest Developments of Chronotherapeutic Antihypertensive Interventions for Better Clinical Outcomes

Cardiac circadian rhythms are an important regulator of body functions, including cardiac activities and blood pressure. Disturbance of circadian rhythm is known to trigger and aggravate various cardiovascular diseases. Thus, modulating the circadian rhythm can be used as a therapeutic approach to cardiovascular diseases. Through this work, we intend to discuss the current understanding of cardiac circadian rhythms, in terms of quantifiable parameters like BP and HR. We also elaborate on the molecular regulators and the molecular cascades along with their specific genetic aspects involved in modulating circadian rhythms, with specific reference to cardiovascular health and cardiovascular diseases. Along with this, we also presented the latest pharmacogenomic and metabolomics markers involved in chronobiological control of the cardiovascular system along with their possible utility in cardiovascular disease diagnosis and therapeutics. Finally, we reviewed the current expert opinions on chronotherapeutic approaches for utilizing the conventional as well as the new pharmacological molecules for antihypertensive chronotherapy.

Vitamin E treatment in insulin-deficient diabetic rats reduces cardiac arrhythmias and mortality during severe hypoglycemia

In people with type 1 diabetes, hypoglycemia can induce cardiac arrhythmias. In rodent experiments, severe hypoglycemia can induce fatal cardiac arrhythmias, especially so in diabetic models. Increased oxidative stress associated with insulin-deficient diabetes was hypothesized to increase susceptibility to severe hypoglycemia-induced fatal cardiac arrhythmias. To test this hypothesis, Sprague-Dawley rats were made insulin deficient with streptozotocin and randomized into two groups: 1) control (n = 22) or 2) vitamin E treated (four doses of α-tocopherol, 400 mg/kg, n = 20). Following 1 week of treatment, rats were either tested for cardiac oxidative stress or underwent a hyperinsulinemic-severe hypoglycemic (10-15 mg/dL) clamp with electrocardiogram recording. As compared with controls, vitamin E-treated rats had threefold less cardiac oxidative stress, sixfold less mortality due to severe hypoglycemia, and sevenfold less incidence of heart block. In summary, vitamin E treatment and the associated reduction of cardiac oxidative stress in diabetic rats reduced severe hypoglycemia-induced fatal cardiac arrhythmias. These results indicate that in the setting of diabetes, pharmacological treatments that reduce oxidative stress may be an effective strategy to reduce the risk of severe hypoglycemia-induced fatal cardiac arrhythmias.NEW & NOTEWORTHY For people with type 1 diabetes, severe hypoglycemia can be fatal. We show in our animal model that insulin-deficient diabetic rats have fatal cardiac arrhythmias during severe hypoglycemia that are associated with increased cardiac oxidative stress. Importantly, treatment with vitamin E, to reduce oxidative stress, decreased fatal cardiac arrhythmias during severe hypoglycemia.

Severe hypoglycemia and risk of hospitalization for heart failure in adults with diabetes treated with oral medications with or without insulin: A population-based study

AIMS

We aimed to determine if severe hypoglycemia (SH) independently increases the risk of hospitalization for heart failure (hHF) in type 2 diabetes, regardless of the prevalent or incident cardiovascular disease (CVD).

METHODS

This was a nationwide population-based propensity score-matched study using Korean National Health Insurance Service data (2002-2018). The hazards of hHF were compared in individuals who experienced SH (n = 8,965) and 1:3 matched controls, among adults with diabetes using oral anti-diabetes medications (OADs) with or without insulin and without previous hHF at baseline.

RESULTS

During 236,417 person-years, 1,189 cases of hHF occurred. The hazard of hHF was higher in individuals with SH compared to matched controls (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.503, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.324-1.707). The increase in aHR remained significant when excluding participants with prevalent or incident major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE; aHR 1.352, 95 % CI 1.228-1.622) and any CVD (aHR 1.342, 95 % CI 1.025-1.756). Two or more SH events were associated with further increase in hHF risk.

CONCLUSION

SH was associated with increased risks of hHF among adults with diabetes using OAD with or without insulin. The increased risk was attenuated but remained significant in those without prevalent or incident MACE or CVDs.

Evaluation of the relationship between hemodialysis-related glycemic variability and hormonal profiles in patients with type 2 diabetes on hemodialysis: a pilot study

Background

The number of dialysis patients with diabetes is currently increasing in Japan and a similar proportion worldwide. It was suggested that approximately 20% of these patients had hypoglycemia after dialysis session and most of these hypoglycemia were unconscious. Furthermore, it was suggested that glucose variabilities induced by hemodialysis may be related to insulin and insulin-counter hormones, such as glucagon, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and cortisol and growth hormone, but conclusive evidence has not still been obtained.

Methods

We investigated in detail the glucose and hormonal profiles in 7 patients with type 2 diabetes on hemodialysis (all male, HbA1c 6.8 ± 2.1%, glycated albumin 24.7 ± 10.2%). All participants were attached continuous glucose monitoring (iPro2®). Blood glucose level, C-peptide immunoreactivity, plasma glucagon, ACTH, cortisol and growth hormone were measured by 7 points blood tests at before breakfast, after breakfast (predialysis), 2 h and 4 h after starting dialysis, after lunch and before/after dinner on the dialysis day and 6 points at before/after each meal on the non-dialysis day, and these relationship with blood glucose dynamics were examined. The meal contents were set to the indicated energy amount, and the same menu was served daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner on dialysis and non-dialysis days of this study period. In addition, the start time of lunch on non-dialysis day was the same as the start time of lunch on the dialysis day.

Results

Serum C-peptide level was significantly increased by taking breakfast and lunch on the hemodialysis day, significantly decreased during hemodialysis, and was significantly lower before and after lunch on the hemodialysis day than on the non-hemodialysis day. Plasma glucagon level significantly decreased during hemodialysis and that before lunch on hemodialysis day was significantly lower than on non-hemodialysis day. ACTH, cortisol, and growth hormone did not show any changes related to hemodialysis.

Conclusions

It was suggested that C-peptide and glucagon play an important role in hemodialysis-related glycemic variabilities in patients with type 2 diabetic hemodialysis.

Trial registration UMIN Clinical Trial Registry (Registration Number UMIN000018707). Registered 18 August 2015, https://center6.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr/ctr.cgi?function=brows&action=brows&type=summary&language=J&recptno=R000021647.

Role of continuous glucose monitoring in diabetic patients at high cardiovascular risk: an expert-based multidisciplinary Delphi consensus

Background

Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) shows in more detail the glycaemic pattern of diabetic subjects and provides several new parameters (“glucometrics”) to assess patients’ glycaemia and consensually guide treatment. A better control of glucose levels might result in improvement of clinical outcome and reduce disease complications. This study aimed to gather an expert consensus on the clinical and prognostic use of CGM in diabetic patients at high cardiovascular risk or with heart disease.

Methods

A list of 22 statements concerning type of patients who can benefit from CGM, prognostic impact of CGM in diabetic patients with heart disease, CGM use during acute cardiovascular events and educational issues of CGM were developed. Using a two-round Delphi methodology, the survey was distributed online to 42 Italian experts (21 diabetologists and 21 cardiologists) who rated their level of agreement with each statement on a 5-point Likert scale. Consensus was predefined as more than 66% of the panel agreeing/disagreeing with any given statement.

Results

Forty experts (95%) answered the survey. Every statement achieved a positive consensus. In particular, the panel expressed the feeling that CGM can be prognostically relevant for every diabetic patient (70%) and that is clinically useful also in the management of those with type 2 diabetes not treated with insulin (87.5%). The assessment of time in range (TIR), glycaemic variability (GV) and hypoglycaemic/hyperglycaemic episodes were considered relevant in the management of diabetic patients with heart disease (92.5% for TIR, 95% for GV, 97.5% for time spent in hypoglycaemia) and can improve the prognosis of those with ischaemic heart disease (100% for hypoglycaemia, 90% for hyperglycaemia) or with heart failure (87.5% for hypoglycaemia, 85% for TIR, 87.5% for GV). The experts retained that CGM can be used and can impact the short- and long-term prognosis during an acute cardiovascular event. Lastly, CGM has a recognized educational role for diabetic subjects.

Conclusions

According to this Delphi consensus, the clinical and prognostic use of CGM in diabetic patients at high cardiovascular risk is promising and deserves dedicated studies to confirm the experts’ feelings.

Positionspapier Herzinsuffizienz und Diabetes

Diabetes mellitus (DM) stellt eine wichtige Komorbidität bei Patienten mit Herzinsuffizienz dar, die maßgeblich die Prognose der Patienten determiniert. Von entscheidender Bedeutung zur Verbesserung der Prognose dieser Hochrisiko-Patienten ist daher eine frühzeitige Diagnostik und differenzierte medikamentöse Therapie mit Ausschöpfung aller möglichen Therapieoptionen und Absetzen potenziell schädlicher Substanzen. Das gemeinsame Positionspapier der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Kardiologie (DGK) und der Deutschen Diabetes Gesellschaft (DDG) fasst die vorhandene wissenschaftliche Evidenz zusammen und gibt Empfehlungen, was bei der Diagnose und Therapie der Herzinsuffizienz und des DM zu beachten ist, um die Prognose zu verbessern.

High incidence of undetected low sensor glucose events among elderly patients with type 2 diabetes more than a decade on after the ACCORD study

OBJECTIVE

Hypoglycaemia leads to significant morbidity and impacts negatively on quality-of-life, especially in elderly people with increased frailty. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of low interstitial fluid glucose (IFG) in patients with tightly controlled type 2 diabetes (T2D), and to evaluate whether there were differences in burden of low IFG between sulphonylurea and insulin treated groups.

METHODS

A Freestyle Libre-Pro sensor was used for sampling of the IFG continuously. Patients were blinded to the IFG levels. The sensor was returned to the investigators after a 2-week period and the data were downloaded for analysis.

RESULTS

There was a total of 69 patients (median age 72 years (IQR = 69-74)) - 40 were sulfonylurea-treated and 29 insulin-treated. In total, 781 low sensor glucose events (<4.0 mmol/L) were detected, of which 254 were very low sensor glucose events (<2.8 mmol/L). Twenty-six out of 29 insulin-treated (89.6%) and 36 out of 40 sulphonylurea-treated patients (90%) contributed to the 781 events of low sensor glucose. Twenty out of 29 insulin-treated (69%) and 26 out of 40 sulphonylurea-treated patients (65.0%) contributed to the 254 very low sensor glucose events. Only 9% of all events were identified by patients. Nocturnal events represented 55.8% of low sensor glucose events and 61.0% of very low sensor glucose events. At a cut-off of <2.8 mmol/L, it was found that the insulin group had a significantly greater number of such events as compared to the sulfonylurea group.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates that elderly patients with tightly-controlled T2D have a significant number of low sensor glucose events which go by undetected.

Severe Hypoglycemia and Incidence of QT Interval Prolongation Among Adults With Type 2 Diabetes

CONTEXT

There is a paucity of large-scale epidemiological studies on the link between severe hypoglycemia (SH) and corrected QT (QTc) interval prolongation in type 2 diabetes (T2DM).

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the association of SH with QTc prolongation in adults with T2DM.

METHODS

Prospective cohort analysis of participants enrolled in the ACCORD (Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes) study without QTc prolongation at baseline. SH was assessed over a 24-month period. Incident QTc prolongation was ascertained using follow-up electrocardiograms. Modified Poisson regression was used to generate the risk ratio (RR) and 95% CI for QTc prolongation.

RESULTS

Among 8277 participants (mean age 62.6 years [SD 6.5], 38.7% women, 62.8% White), 324 had ≥1 SH episode (3.9%). Over a median of 5 years, 517 individuals developed QTc prolongation (6.3%). Participants with SH had a 66% higher risk of QTc prolongation (RR 1.66, 95% CI 1.16-2.38). The incidence of QTc prolongation was 10.3% (27/261) and 14.3% (9/63) for participants with 1 and ≥2 SH, respectively. Compared with no SH, RRs for patients with 1 and ≥2 SH episodes were 1.57 (95% CI 1.04-2.39) and 2.01 (95% CI 1.07-3.78), respectively. Age modified the association of SH with QTc prolongation (PInteraction = .008). The association remained significant among younger participants (<61.9 years [median age]: RR 2.63, 95% CI 1.49-4.64), but was nonsignificant among older participants (≥61.9 years: RR 1.37, 95% CI 0.87-2.17).

CONCLUSION

In a large population with T2DM, SH was associated with an increased risk of QTc prolongation independently of other risk factors such as cardiac autonomic neuropathy. The association was strongest among younger participants.

Modifications of Functional Human Brain Networks by Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation: Impact of Time of Day

Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) is a novel non-invasive treatment option for different diseases and symptoms, such as epilepsy or depression. Its mechanism of action, however, is still not fully understood. We investigated short-term taVNS-induced changes of local and global properties of EEG-derived, evolving functional brain networks from eighteen subjects who underwent two 1 h stimulation phases (morning and afternoon) during continuous EEG-recording. In the majority of subjects, taVNS induced measurable modifications of network properties. Network alterations induced by stimulation in the afternoon were clearly more pronounced than those induced by stimulation in the morning. Alterations mostly affected the networks' topology and stability properties. On the local network scale, no clear-cut spatial stimulation-related patterns could be discerned. Our findings indicate that the possible impact of diurnal influences on taVNS-induced network modifications would need to be considered for future research and clinical studies of this non-pharmaceutical intervention approach.